Numerical simulation and experimental study of solidification of squeeze cast aluminum composites in the presence of cooled fibers

In order to improve the material properties of fiber-reinforced aluminum composites, experimental research has been carried out to create finer matrix microstructures and novel interfaces between aluminum matrix (A2014) and carbon fibers using a modified pressure infiltration technique. In this novel process the ends of the fibers extending outside the mold are cooled by using a variety of heat sinks. Solidification microstructures show that the dendrite arm spacing in between and around the fibers are much finer than in the region where there are no fibers. This suggests the possibility of refining the matrix microstructures by cooling the fibers extending out of the mold. A numerical simulation is also performed to study the solidification process of aluminum matrix by finite volume method. The cooling curves obtained by the simulation are compared with the experimentally measured cooling curves in order to validate the numerical model. It is found that the simulation result closely matches the experimentally obtained data.